The Stag, The Freak and The Plan
by TheMaraudersProngs
Summary: Marlene Mc Kinnon usually tolerates her family. But when they spring life changing information on her and expect her to tolerate that, it takes Marlene by surprise and eventually alters the school year. Meanwhile, Remus is struggling to keep his "furry little problem" under wraps and is distraught about the full moon's impeccable timing, his only comfort being found in James.
1. Purebloods Only

It all began a month before school started.  
Marlene McKinnon was being forced to have dinner downstairs with the family. She was dreading it. And not because her mother was a bad cook or anything. Then again, she wasn't even sure if her mother even bothered to cook, she probably made the house elves do it for her, the lazy sod. Marlene swore at herself; that was no way to speak of your family, even if they did hate your guts. Then again, that was another one of the reasons she was dreading this dinner; it was just going to be plain awkward. She rarely left her room during the summer; not even for meals. She ate out or in the safe confines of her room. But she hated listening to her parents drabble on about current wizarding affairs, muggles; the main topics always stayed the same. But the real reason, the main reason she didn't want to be there was because of the guests. Every year they had this dinner, which was only tolerable in the first place because it only happened annually at the end of summer. The families they spent it with differed (although Marlene felt obliged to mention that they always stayed no less than fully pureblood families). These families were all the same type as her own; arrogant and boring. Thay all skithed on about the same stupid things her family did and they always had scowls on their faces, no matter what the circumstance. She tried desperately to picture any one of them laughing once but failed. Marlene always felt out of place surrounded by these people. She felt a scowl approaching her own face just thinking about being with them but quickly dismissed it. She never bothered to find out beforehand which family they were spending it with; the less time she spent talking to her family, the better.

Marlene checked the time and reluctantly rolled out of bed and stared at her closet for 2 minutes before deciding what to wear. She plucked a short black dress from her wardrobe and pulled it on. She stood on front of her mirror and noticed that the dress she had chosen was just above the knees, in her opinion, the perfect length. She then proceeded to style her raven-black hair into a low bun, a few pieces still hanging at the sides of her forehead. She slid a large decorative flower hairpiece through her bun in an effort to spice it up from her usual attire. She pulled on her heels that matched the golden decorative piece in her hair and put a number of beauty products on before deciding she didn't care enough to go through any more trouble than a quick squirt of perfume on her way out the door of her bedroom. Besides, she was late and she couldn't bear the thought of her mother's cold eyes staring accusingly at her for being late for more than a minute or two and she was late enough as it is; she knew the stare would last at least 2 minutes, even if she ran.  
She could feel her breathing getting faster as she climbed down the spiral staircase, coming to a halt a few steps before the end of the stairs. Why was she so nervous? She went to this dinner every year. Although, if she were to be honest with herself, she got nervous every other year too. She laughed at herself inwardly and descended the last few steps of the spiral staircase that led to the dining room, smoothing her dress before coming into view of all that were seated at the dining table. Marlene forced herself to speak up as soon as she met her mother's accusatory eyes. "Sorry I'm late, I... couldn't find the right shoes." she lied. Her mother broke the silence that was consuming the dining room. "No matter, we're all here now" she said with a discerning tone. She shuddered with anger as she sat at the only available seat at the table. Why must they all be so judgmental? All she did was show up a few minutes late and everyone at the table was looking at her like she had just flashed them her knickers. She began to eat the food that had been at her place before she sat down.

At first she listened to the conversation and ate her food like her mother had taught her to do at events like this but she quickly became bored and began looking around and surveying her fellow guests. Marlene then realized that this years lucky family was the Blacks. Marlene didn't mind the blacks, although she was only friends with one, him being Sirius.  
Herself and Sirius had a funny kind of relationship; they bickered most of the time but remained friends all the same. She smiled at the thought of Sirius being here now; If he was, this might just be bearable. Might even be enjoyable for once in her life.  
But Sirius was not much to go on, considering his family hated him probably as much as her family despised her. She didn't know the ins and outs but all she knew was that Sirius spent most of his time at James' place as a result of it. She wished that she could spend summer with her friends but she knew that she would be unable to convince her mother to allow her to do such a thing, considering she wasn't friends with many other pureblood girls; Her mother would have a freak attack if she so much as asked to stay with Lily.  
Marlene looked up at the faces surrounding her at the table, blocking out their undoubtedly boring conversation. She first noticed the sullen face of Regulus Black. Marlene wondered what had him so upset but then recalled what Sirius had said in that letter he sent her a while back; It had said that Regulus was fighting with his girlfriend and he had been lashing out at him for weeks. Marlene examined Regulus' face, feeling her own face flushing with anger at the thought of him being mean to Sirius. But she then recalled that his girlfriend was a muggle and realized that he wouldn't have been able to vent his anger to his parents because of their blood pride. She then looked to the scowling faces of whom she knew belonged to Orion and Walburga Black, Sirius' parents. They were in deep conversation with her parents about something Marlene had no interest in. She scanned their faces, feeling anger toward them for being so cruel to Sirius. Sirius was a slimy git, but she couldn't see how anyone could possibly stay angry at him for too long. She also failed to see any of Sirius' good looks in either of their wrinkled old faces...

Her thought train was cut off by the sound of her mother's over-enthusiastic voice, the one she only used when guests were present. "Marlene, we were just speaking to Orion and Walburga about their son Regulus, you've met Regulus before, haven't you?" Marlene looked up and exchanged glances with Regulus, both of them smiling briefly before continuing to eat but Marlene made the brave decision to speak up for once. "Yes, we've met before, why do you ask?" she asked, genuinely interested and minding her manners. Marlene was usually left out of the conversation at these dinners, which she'd rather than having to initiate conversation. Marlene's mother's tone changed suddenly to a far more grim one and Marlene wasn't sure if she had brought it on with her question but her mother replied, in a very uninterested manner, "I ask because the two of you are going to be married after you graduate."

Marlene swore that she nearly fell of her chair when her mother oh-so-calmly said the words that made her heart drop 100 miles. "What?!" she exclaimed in a shocked tone. All manners had gone out the window now. She looked over at Regulus and caught a glimpse of disappointment in his eyes before he changed his tone, realizing that his parents were expecting him to say something, along with herself. Regulus swallowed and simply replied "It would be my pleasure to marry miss McKinnon." Marlene sat at the table, mouth agape. She couldn't believe it. Her heart was pounding and she felt trapped. Her mother looked her stark in the eyes. "I said you will marry Regulus" Her mother gave her a look that clearly read "Do as a I say, Marlene. If not we can talk about it later." But Marlene knew if she left it until later she would not win this newly forming battle. Thoughts were flying through Marlene's brain faster than a hippogriff on steroids. "I don't love Regulus Black and he doesn't love me!" was definitely one of them. Marlene placed her cutlery firmly on the table, preparing for what she was about to do.

"I won't." she announced firmly. Her mother's former smug look was now replaced with one of absolute horror, which, admittedly, gave Marlene a small amount of pleasure. "What did you say?!" exclaimed her mother, clearly unimpressed. Marlene stared directly at her mother, eyes welling up with tears. "I said I won't!" she said, her voice cracking with emotion. Marlene's father then stood up, clearly distraught. "How dare you speak to your mother like that! Apologize!" he said, pointing an accusatory finger at Marlene. She rose from the table, seething with rage and sadness. "Not a chance, old man!" She said, raising her voice and rising up to meet his height now that he was standing. Before she knew it, her knees had buckled from the shock of her father's hand striking her right cheek. She kneeled on the ground, tentatively clutching her red hot cheek with one hand and supporting her weight with the other. She rose form the ground, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "I won't, no matter what you say!" she shouted, running up to her bedroom and slamming the big wooden door as loud as she could, she then proceeded to pack everything she could into a big trunk with her initials on it, tears now openly falling from her eyes.

As soon a she could fit no more into her trunk, she carried it down the spiral stairs, making a lot more noise than necessary. She would be surprised if James couldn't hear it from his home- that gave her an idea... When she reached the bottom of the stairs however, she ran straight into her father. "And where do you think you're going?" he shouted, giving Marlene a fright at how loud his voice was. "Anywhere but here!" she shouted back, shoving past the large man and making a mad dash for the door. Someone blocked her way. "You foolish girl! come back here this instant and listen to me!" He announced at the top of his lungs.

Marlene, getting sick of her father, whirled around faster than she knew she could and screamed "I WILL NOT!". She shoved past her human-shaped obstacle, making another mad dash for the door when suddenly she heard the words "CRUCIO!" being screamed from the other side of the room. She only had a second to consider who it might be aimed at until she fell the the ground, crippled with pain and biting her tongue to save herself from giving them the satisfaction of her bloodcurdling scream. She felt the pain of 1000 red-hot knives being stabbed into her and she vaguely wondered if she had been sent to hell for some unfathomable reason.

Marlene was curled up into a ball on the floor when she heard the laughter of one of the witches from the Black family,  
Bellatrix approaching behind her. She heard some kind of dark magic being cast upon her and feeling her arm grow moist, she looked down to see a large gash slowly growing on her arm. Marlene was determined not to give up. In one swift movement, she pulled the carpet form underneath Bellatrix's feet, causing her to fall,  
as did her concentration meaning Marlene had enough time in the confusion of the surrounding wizards to jump forward to the front door, grabbing her trunk and apparating to the one place she knew she would be safe. The Potter's.


	2. Unexpected Companionship

Marlene was slowly walking down the hall towards her potions lesson while thinking about summer. It's all she did recently, think about summer. Sometimes she was even late to class because of it. But her professors understood, and she wasn't sure how. The term had begun a week ago and she was doing okay. At least she was doing better than she thought she would be.

* * *

After she had been tortured and beaten at that wretched dinner, she went to James' place, hair matted with blood and a limp leg dragging behind her. She was embarassed to be showing up in such a state but they were the only hope she had. She also knew that Sirius would be there. She wouldn't mind going at all if it were just the Potters, but she knew that Sirius would laugh at her, never let it slide. That was the kind of relationship they had. James would understand, Sirius wouldn't. It's not like she didn't want Sirius there; he would be good comfort after what had happened, what with his humour. But Marlene had already stumbled in the door, making a lot more noise than necessary. The last thing Marlene saw was Ms Potter's shocked face as she saw Marlene's trembling figure in the doorway. -

* * *

James was out in the garden on his broom with Sirius on the day Marlene showed up. Himself and Sirius were playing a game of quidditch, both playing seeker with the snich he had stolen a while ago. The both of them were neck and neck for a while until Sirius swooped around, confusing James and taking that opportunity to come unexpectedly from the sidelines, making James veer right, straight into a tree. When James finally untangled himself from the tree, Sirius was far from apologetic, instead celebrating his victory by gloating in his face."Ha ha! I beat the infamous James Potter at his own game!" he flew in circles in the air around James, finally tossing him his snitch when he had his fill of boasting. James shot him a look of disgust." It was foul play! you pushed me into a tree!" he exclaimed, gesturing at the tree. "Besides, I was distracted." said James, looking back at his broom which has lost a few of the twigs out of the back in the tangle. Sirius shot him a knowing look. "Distracted by what, exactly? The fact that you were losing, or something else? Someone else? That someone happening to be a certain red-haired girl?" A smile crept onto James' face. "No. Well not entirely about her. I was thinking about the next full moon, which just so happens to be on Christmas day." he said, the tone in the air suddenly turning into a far more grim one than it had been moments before.

Sirius looked over at James. "Mate, I- I have to spend Christmas at home this year..." he said guiltily, averting his gaze elsewhere. James paused, knnowing he was fast approaching a multitude of touchy subjects but he felt like he needed to ask. "Why? Why don't you just spend it at Hogwarts?" Sirius' voice got notably quieter. "Because... since I've spent all summer with you, my parents feel like I owe it to them to stay with them." James felt anger bubbling inside of him. "Well why didn't you just tell them to bugger off? They don't pay attention to you as it is, and then they have the nerve to say you could ever owe them something?!" James knew he was being invasive but he couldn't control himself. Speaking about Sirius' family affairs always set him over the edge. "Prongs-" Sirius began but had James fully snapped. "No, they don't deserve to treat you this way-" Sirius cut him off abrubtly, clearly more than a little saddened. "James! Listen!" he paused, as if he were afraid (which was unlike Sirius) to mutter these next few words. "I tried to reason with them. And I mean really tried. And before I knew it I was having a screaming match with the pair of them. But I lost the fight." James opened his mouth to say something, as if to say he didn't try hard enough. After all, he was fuming at this point, not prepared for what was to come next as Sirius interrupted him once more. "James I lost the fight because of this..." Sirius lifted his trouser leg to reveal a huge red mark running down the side of his right leg. James' anger quickly faded as he floated in the sky across from his best mate. He opened his mouth but shut it just as quickly. He has no words to express how upset he felt. Rain began to pour out of the clouds, quickly penetrating the boys' layers of clothes and causing Sirius to conceal his leg once more. Ignoring the rain and suddenly feeling his face flush with anger, he opened his mouth again, this time having some (very unkind) words to say but his rant was cut off by the sound of the back door opening and his mum who then popped her head out the back garden door, telling them in an alarmed voice to "Get off of those damn brooms this instant and come inside!" pausing before she said, "You'd like to see this love" before hurrying back inside. James exchanged a look with Sirius. They probably would've brushed her off and played for another while; playing in the rain was fun and a rare opportunity but something in his mother's eyes alarmed James and when he looked into Sirius' eyes, he saw his own emotions reflected there, prompting him to begin descending towards the ground.

* * *

Marlene forced herself to open her eyes and when she did, the light of the Potter's front room momentarily blinded her. When her eyes eventually adjusted and focused on the room around her, she noticed that it wasn't really bright at all in the front room, it was rather dimly lit, the only light in the room coming from a candle Mrs Potter had placed on the oak coffee table. She was lying across one of the couches in the front room, the one closest to the window. The curtains were thankfully drawn. A table was at eye level, covered with bottles with labels that Marlene couldn't read. Her head was pounding and her arm was still stinging where Bellatrix had hit her with that ancient curse. Marlene lay her head back on the arm of the chair, staring at the door. She was thinking about how school was going to go when she got back until she heard the sound of running feet getting closer to the front room. James and Sirius apperared in the doorway, looking worried, then shocked once they laid eyes on her. She gave them a weak smile, the best she could manage considering the circumstances. She examined the boys. James had leaves and sticks protruding out of his hair and he was covered in mud. Sirius' hair was not its usual perfect self and he was wearing his quidditch gear and clutching his Nimbus, as was James. Marlene blushed when Sirius gave her a half smile. She was after all, in a terrible state; Her dress was ripped and she was covered in blood, her hair in matted clumps. She was just about to try to begin explaining until she felt a sharp pain in her head and everything went black. The last thing she saw was Sirius pushing James out of his way to and running over to the me, James swearing in response to Sirius' pushing.

Marlene woke up, thinking she was in her room but slowly realizing that this room was far more warm, far more relaxing than than her room, the only reason she found her room distracting is because she knew her family was near. A smile crept onto her face as she realized that her family was nowhere near, that she was safe at the Potters' home. She looked down at her arm that Bellatrix had injured, amazed at Mrs Potter's healing skills. The cut was bandaged now and it hurt a lot less. She lifted her healthy left arm up and pulled the curtain open a small bit, noticing that it was still dark out and that it was now raining heavily. She looked out at the miserable night from the safety of the cozy front room, feeling more secure here than she ever had or probably would feel at home. Marlene then looked at the door, noticing that the two boys were gone, probably asleep. But when she lolled her head over to face the couch to her right, she gasped at the fact that Sirius was sleeping on the couch across from her, his face relaxed in his slumber. Marlene couldn't stop her face from flushing when she looked down to see that Sirius was clutching her hand with his, even though he was in a deep sleep. She lay her head back onto the arm rest with a warm hand and a warm heart.

* * *

Marlene snapped back to reality as soon as her professor's voice intruded her thoughts. "Miss McKinnon! What is the answer?" he said in a rather annoyed tone. Marlene searched around the classroom, desperate for so much as a hint as to what the question was, but to no avail. She sighed. She was really in for it now. "What was the question again, sir?" she heard a few giggles from various places in the classroom. Professor Slughorn's eyes widened. "My girl, I only asked you 3 times! Merlin's beard, 10 points from Gryffindor!" he exclaimed, turning around to the board and continuing with his boring lesson. She groaned but then couldn't help her mind from wandering back to the topic of summer.

Surprisingly, Sirius hadn't laughed at her at all about her emotional or physical state when she turned up to the Potter's house that night. He was rather supportive of her in fact, which made her far happier than she had been all summer while lazing around in her own home, waiting for the term to begin. He would listen to her rant about it for hours on end over in that front room, Whereas James got bored after a while and left. She didn't really mind that though- that gave herself and Sirius time alone to talk about their families. Sirius told her some stories about his family too. Most of it didn't shock her which was one of the main reasons the talked about it so much- it's because they could relate and converse unlike James who had a perfect family, much to Sirius' advantage as he spent most of his available time with them, she had learned. Marlene had felt a strong bond between herself and Sirius growing; one she was very thankful for and admittedly confused by; she didn't know what the emotion the bond was, but it made her happy all the same. Marlene had spent the rest of summer with the Potters, sleeping down in the front room with Sirius on the couch across from her, which confused her because they had a bed made up for him upstairs but he refused to sleep in it, insisting that Marlene's family may come back looking for her (even though secretly she knew they wouldn't) and occasionally she went out to watch James and Sirius play Quidditch although she usually ended up becoming the referee because they got in so many fights about it. She had to wear clothes from around the house, some belonging to James and others belonging to Sirius. It made her happy to be running around in their oversized shirts and tracksuit bottoms. One day when they all went out to a to restaraunt to eat, she had been stared at by half of the people who passed her in the streets but Sirius stuck his tongue out at anyone who pointed or laughed or even stared too long, James joining in. It was, admittedly, the best few weeks of her life, even though she had been hurt so badly only a few nights before.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**  
 _I'd just like to thank blackinnonlover3100 for helping me set up my account and make this a possibility, I turned to her whenever I had a question (and trust me, there were a LOT of those). This story, this account wouldn't be here if it weren't for her so if you could, go check out her fanfics and review them and give her tons of love, I'd really appreciate it._

 _Prongs_


	3. Common Room

Winter was fast approaching at Hogwarts; James could tell because of how his lungs hurt after breathing in the frigid outdoor air for too long.  
One evening, James was in the common room with a group of fellow students, drinking hot chocolate they had stolen from the kitchen and sitting around the fire on the surrounding armchairs and couches. James was sitting across the fire in the on the couch, absentmindedly listening to a conversation between Marlene and Mary about quidditch or something.  
But his mind was elsewhere. He was thinking about the full moon, and they day it was happening. Every time he thought about the full moon being on Christmas Day, he had to work hard to conceal his frown. He was frowning because Remus would be in so much pain on such a 'nice' day, frowning because James had to miss out on Christmas day too, frowning because he was going to have to sit with Remus alone all night; Peter and Sirius had both already gone home for Christmas. If he were to be honest, the latter was the main reason he was so upset. Some nights, on the full moon, they all went on adventures in the dark forest together. But James didn't think it wise to go with only Remus, he might not be able to control him. So it was just a boring night in the shrieking shack. It would've been okay if Remus didn't feel sick the whole morning of the full moon, meaning that he spent the day either in the hospital or in the shack and James preferred not to leave him alone when he felt sick. Peter was usually the one who stayed with Remus on sick days but the responsibility was with James now. Speaking of, Remus had been groaning about feeling sick all day, which would usually worry James but he was quite sure he had the date of this full moon correct because it had stood out far more than the other times he had checked, what with it being such a nasty shock to find out it was on Christmas day. He sighed, suddenly snapping out of his thoughts and looking at his surrounding students.  
Realizing how long he had been silent, he felt like having to initiate conversation. He was just about to open his mouth when he heard the girls mentioning Sirius' name. He listened in, knowing that most of the girls in the school fancied Sirius and James couldn't seem to work out why. He was just as good-looking as Sirius, if not better. Maybe it was the glasses...

* * *

"I do not like Sirius!" said Marlene, shooting a look she hoped was stubborn at Remus. He looked back over at Marlene, trying to conceal his smile. Remus let out a small chuckle. "C'mon Marlene, you blush whenever you're within 10 meters of him." he said, smiling at her. "This is news to me." said James, shrugging while giving Marlene a cheeky smile. Remus looked over at James, an incredulous look in his eyes. "Marlene, in case you haven't noticed, he does the same around you." She looked over at Remus, her eyes lighting up.  
"What do you mean, Remus?" she asked, trying to stay calm. "Sirius always blushes when you're around, acts like an overexcited puppy." said Remus, laughing. Marlene didn't even bother to try and hide her smile. Of course Sirius didn't like her, and she definitely didn't like him, but it still made her smile that everyone thought she would be good enough for Sirius Black, the boy everyone in her year fancied. She sat back, contempt, until a wave of realization washed over her, making her smile disappear almost instantly. She would never be able to marry Sirius Black because she was destined to marry Regulus Black. She was barely able to keep the tears from falling from her eyes. Her thoughts were interrupted by James' voice. "Moony, you can't even go near Mary without your cheeks turning the deepest shade of scarlet known to man," Then it was Remus' turn to blush furiously. Marlene was thankful for James' interruption. And he wasn't exactly wrong either. "James-" Remus began but James cut him off just as quick." So I don't know why you're talking smack about everyone else." Marlene knew that James' intentions were to make him laugh or even take it back but she wasn't sure that Remus was aware of his good intentions. He shot James a look which Marlene wasn't able to work out the true meaning behind. "I wasn't trying to be mean, I was just saying what I saw."  
Marlene thought James had the common sense to stop there but sadly she was wrong. "You know what, I might just go out with Mary myself." Marlene looked over at Remus and saw face flush scarlet. Whether it was with anger, embarrassment or jealousy she couldn't tell. Remus stood up from the armchair he was sitting on, his face still a deep shade of red. "Fine! Do it! I don't know why you're being so mean James! I didn't mean to upset anyone!" said Remus, raising his voice and surprising everyone. The common room was silent; silent and very awkward. James had stopped nagging now, also startled by Remus' outburst. James often did this to people, his victims varying. Everyone just put up with it, knowing it was just James being who he was. Remus looked around the room, suddenly realizing that all eyes were on him.  
But instead of sitting down and apologizing for his outburst and laughing it off with everyone like he would normally do, he spoke up instead. "I think I'm going to let McGonagall know I won't be spending Christmas at Hogwarts anymore" he said, speaking very quietly and looking down at his feet. Marlene felt her eyes widen and her heart sink. She exchanged a glance with James and his hazel eyes told her he felt the same way. Remus had a reputation for going home with special permission because he was ill or his mother was ill or someone close to him was ill. Marlene didn't always believe these excuses but she felt it was best not to argue with him over it. Had talk about Mary upset him to the point of not wanting to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas? She knew for a fact that Remus immensely enjoyed his time at Hogwarts, so James must have really struck a nerve. Or was there something else bothering him? Before she had a chance to say something to him about it, Remus was already storming out of the common room, James jumping up and running after him.

* * *

James panted a small bit as he ran after Remus, his heart pounding. However, his heart wasn't pounding because of the running; he was rather fit. As he rounded the corner in the hall, he ran straight into Remus who had stopped walking away from the common room and was now looking out the large window into the heavy snow falling rapidly past the glass panels.  
"Is this about the full moon on Christmas day?" asked a panting James, getting straight to the point. Remus didn't take his gaze off of the window. "It's not just that I'm just... I'm better off by myself." James' heart sank, feeling overcome with guilt. "Look I didn't mean to hurt you in there, I'm sorry if I did but your parents aren't going to be able to contain you any better than we can mate," said James, referring to his fellow Marauders.  
Remus looked at James, his eyes filled with sorrow. "I wasn't going to go back to them, they don't deserve to have their Christmas ruined. I was just going to camp in the woods." James couldn't help but chuckle at this idea. "And then what? Come crawling back to Hogwarts after a freezing week in the forest, hungry for humans? Come on Moony, you're not daft." said James, raising his eyebrows. Remus moved closer to James so he was standing directly on front of him and he sighed. "I was just upset, I don't really want to spend Christmas like that... its just that I feel bad, I'm such an inconvenience to you and the others, you guys do a lot for me and I don't really deserve it. You should be in the great hall having your Christmas meal but instead you'll be in the shrieking shack with me,"  
James slung his arm around Remus' shoulder and began walking back to the common room with Remus under his arm. "If it makes you feel any better, Peter and Sirius will both get their meals, the lazy gits. Just me and you this time." Remus smiled weakly and shot James a puzzled look. "Yeah, why is that anyway? I mean, I'd expect it from Peter but Sirius way prefers spending Christmas at Hogwarts. Why did he go home?" James felt that frown from earlier finding its way back onto his face. "Long story mate..."

* * *

Marlene sat in the girl's dormitory, her heart pounding like a drum. Without James and Remus bickering in the common room to distract her, her mined had wandered back to the touchy subject of her forced marriage. She has just about managed to get up to the empty dormitory and out of the sight of fellow students before she began to bawl her eyes out.  
As soon as the first tear had fallen from her eyes, she had thrown herself on her bed in a rather dramatic fashion and wept like there was no tomorrow. Marlene was usually the type to steer clear of drama but she felt like she had a viable excuse on this rare occasion. She was thankful for the closed door or else all of the students in the common room would've heard her. She simply couldn't bear the thought of marrying Regulus. Its not like he was a particularly bad person, he just wasn't the person she loved. She hadn't even met the person she loved yet, let alone marry him. She felt her tears soaking through her thick jumper as her body racked with sobs.  
She was just about to try and pull herself together until she heard a faint knock on the door and the hinges creaking as the door was slowly pushed open. Marlene leapt to her feet, startled and preparing for humiliation as she hastily dried her tears. Alas, the person tentatively opening the door was Mary rather than some unknown Gryffindor student. Marlene made a weak effort to stop the tears from flowing again but the effort was futile. She ran forward to Mary, falling into her arms as she shut her eyes tight in the arms of her best friend. Mary held her tight for a while until Marlene finally managed to compose herself.  
She stood back from Mary and lingered sheepishly but Mary was supportive. "Marlene what happened? I can't remember ever seeing you this upset in my life," Marlene gave Mary a weak smile. "Oh Mary- What if someone told you that you were forbidden to marry who you loved? That they had other plans for your future?" asked Marlene, even just the thought sending a shiver down her spine. Mary seemed to sink a little before her eyes met with Marlene's in realization. "No..." Marlene felt the tears coming again but she refused to let them fall as she gave a slight nod in Mary's direction. Mary walked over to one of the beds and sat down, clutching her forehead in an almost comical fashion. The two of them sat and stood in silence before Mary piped up again. "Wh- What are you going to do Marls? I mean, you can't Marry someone you don't love."  
Marlene sighed. "I know but- but I just can't figure out what to do..." Marlene walked over to the bed Mary was sitting on and sat down beside her, feeling her tears resume their unhealthy habit of falling. Mary sat for another period of remote silence with Marlene, the only interruption being the noise of Marlene's crying. Mary finally spoke after five long minutes of sobbing. "You could run away."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _I apologize for the prolonged wait, I worked on this chapter for longer than usual because I wanted it to make perfect sense rather than being all higgeldy-piggeldy if you know what I mean. I'd also like to thank you all for your support on this story, it makes me really happy to see that people are actually reading this junk. I've also noticed that I have a few readers from places like Germany so hello Germany reader(s)! Please leave a review if you can, I'd really appreciate it!_

 _-Prongs_


	4. Being Irrational

Marlene and Mary walked back in to the common room at the exact same time as James and Remus, almost bumping straight in to them. Remus' eyes lit up and his cheeks grew scarlet when he saw Mary by her side. "H- hi Mary," stuttered Remus, forcing a simultaneos groan out of Marlene and James which the pair of them ignored. "I'm good, you?" she replied politely. Marlene was getting impatient. "I'm okay, feeling a little sick but-" Marlene raised her hand to cut him off, even though she too was interested to see if he'd explain why he ran out of the common room few minutes ago. "Look, we need to talk to the pair of you," she said, getting straight to the point.

James and Remus both looked momentarily stunned but sat down on the couches they had been on before everything went wrong.  
"So, myself and Mary have been talking and..." began Marlene, feeling uncomfortable about the conversation she could sense coming on. "And what?" asked James, clearly fed up with the silence that had insued. Marlene could feel all eyes available in the room trained on her and she panicked (which didn't happen often). "Mary can tell you," she said, basically running behind Mary from cover from the eyes that seemed to be following her around wherever she went. Mary stiffened when she realized that she couldn't make her talk and said in an exasperated voice: "We're running away!" Mary's words forced her to come out from the safety of her shoulder and meet eyes with James, his fear realized by the sadness in her own, causing him to cup his face in his hands and sigh deeply.  
Marlene felt anger rising inside of her because of James' inconsideration and found a lot more courage than she could have even hoped to muster a few long minutes ago. "We have to, I'll end up having to marry someone I don't love James!" said Marlene, raising her voice a small bit which caused Mary to stir and grasp her hand. "I'm coming with you! I know a place..." she said, then turning her attention to James who was still sitting there, indignant as ever. Man, he got on Marlene's nerves sometimes. Not too often, but sometimes. And now was one of those rare times. "And I agree with Marlene, no one should be forced to go through something like that," said Mary, addressing James who now had his arms crossed like a stubborn five-year-old.  
"Not at this age you won't!" he said, now rising from his seating and shaking his finger. Whether this was meant to be sarcastic, she wasn't sure. "Besides, I'll help you marry who you love Marlene, don't be siriusly irrational," he said, doing a bad job at concealing his smile. Ever since the summer Marlene had spent with the pair of them at his home, James seemed to have a running joke with himself that there was something going on between herself and Sirius which was, as he had put it himself, siriusly irrational. Whether Sirius felt that way about her was unknown to her but one thing was for sure; she did NOT like Sirius Black. He was cocky, rude and egotistical. Not as egotistical as James, but still.  
And even if she did like Sirius, nothing would ever happen because... because this was the reason she was running away in the first place! This was just basically her reliving the conversation herself and Mary had in the dorm room and it made her upset, even the mere thought of it. "Oh James, this is not the time for jokes!" she simply said, rather than voicing all of those thoughts to the others in the common room even though that would probably help him understand the situation better than he did at the moment. Besides, it was all she could manage before bursting back into tears despite her hardest efforts. She raised her blurry vision to meet James' eyes, which were now flooded with guilt. "Oh... sorry, Mar," he said, averting his gaze but then walking over and embracing her in a tight hug which, admittedly, surprised her but it certainly wasn't unwelcome, James was a lot bigger in comparison to Mary so his hugs were considerably comfier. She could feel her tears soaking through James' shirt which was a clear sign to her that she wasn't acting her usual self. I mean, she was the on who fought back when her professors gave out to her, she was the one who helped James pull pranks when Sirius was sick and she was the one who spent hours trying to figure out the perfect strategy for sleeping in class without getting caught, despite the objections from Lily which often tore James away from the main objective because he was so happy that he had gotten any attention from Lily in the first place, even though it was so negative. So why was this whole marraige situation nagging on her so much? If she tried, if she really and truly tried she could probably get away with it right? Right?

She snapped out of her thoughts to the sound of James' voice. "Marlene, it gets better," He said, in a far more soothing tone than she had ever previously heard him speak to her in. But his words did make her a small bit happier. "Oh James, what will I do though?" she asked, still in his embrace, her body rocking with uncontrollable sobs. Seriously, if she had the option she would've stopped crying a long time ago but her tear ducts had seemed to develop a mind of their own. Well that was what she was telling herself for the time being anyway. "Not run away, that's for sure..." replied James, his arms still fast around my body. Marlene forced herself to leave James' arms, suddenly feeling cold as soon as she did. "Let's run away." said Marlene with more confidence thsn she know she had in her at this moment. She made an effort to dry her eyes and when she did, she was startled to see Remus, who she had forgotten about, sitting there in silence and seemed to be too shocked to say a word. If you really want to Mar, but remember, it's difficult to get out of Hogwarts," said Mary, laying her hand on Marlene's shoulder tentatively.  
Before she had a chance to reply, however, James interrupted. "Do you want me to tell Sirius?" Marlene's heart leapt. She has totally forgotten about Sirius, and telling him for that matter. She didn't really plan on telling him, she just hoped he would find out. Besides, he wouldn't care that she was going, right? They had always bickered 24/7. So why did James deem it necessary to send him a letter with such minor information? "Don't tell Sirius," said Marlene, trying to act nonchalant and hoping desperately that it had worked. James nodded slightly before Mary piped up again. "I agree with you. The others shouldn't be told just yet," she said, shooting Marlene a small but encouraging smile.  
"I think if you're going to do it at all, you should do it sooner rather than later. If your heart is really set on it." said James unexpectedly, his words making tears prick Marlene's eyes again. Mary embraced her, seeing the look on her face and the tears rapidly budding on her waterline. "Don't worry Marlene. And I have to agree with James this time," she said, gesturing to James who was now sitting on the arm of the couch. "But James I love Hogwarts! And where would I even go? It's not like my parents will take me in," she exclaimed, the crack in her voice involuntarily loud. "Mar, if were going to run away, we should do it tonight or soon. If we laeve it until summer, your husband could get word of it, and I can't even think of what might happen..." said Mary, shooting Marlene a half smile. And although it broke her heart, Marlene found it hard to disagree with her argument. If Regulus found out about the plan, it simply wouldn't be a possibility anymore and if that happened, she would probably die of regret.

Her ears picked up the silence and she looked up to find three pairs of eyes looking at her expectantly. She thought, and within a split second she made her choice, because if she sat on it any longer she would never make her choice. "I'll do it," she said, the firmness in her voice somewhat false but hopefully convincing. And judging by the look on Mary's face, it was convincing enough. Maybe she'd been expecting this argument to go on far longer than it already had. But it still unnerved her enough to make her feel like she had to say more. "But what about you guys, I can't leave Hogwarts!" she asked, adressing them a little more harsh than she had intended. But rather than retorting with a snappy remark like he usually did (which more often than not led to arguments between the pair of them) he simply turned to Mary, and said, rather quietly she felt like mentioning, "Keep her safe." and then proceeded to leave the common room with Remus in tow.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _I'm sorry for how late this chapter is but it is a little bit longer than the rest of them I have written so I hope you enjoy! I'd love some more reviews if possible, thanks for all the continued support and I'll try to be a little faster with the next chapter!_

 _-Prongs_


	5. The Missing 5th

Marlene felt bad for Mary. Even though she wouldn't admit it, she was sad that Remus had left with James without so much as a glimpse in her direction. Marlene didn't really understand why, for _she_ didn't really mind that they had left like that. He did look quite shocked about the whole thing. But when Marlene had asked her about why it upset her so much, she just brushed it off and said something about wanting to know whether he still felt sick or not. This, of course, was a white lie; She knew Mary better than that. But Mary was upset, so she didn't feel obliged to press her for details, she just brushed it off too.

"You know James is going to tell Sirius, right?" asked Mary, looking at her concerned. Marlene gulped and tried to compose herself so that Mary didn't think it made her upset in any way. Because it didn't upset her. Why should it?

"I know," she answered, looking at her feet to conceal her suddenly red-hot face. She was quick to change the subject. "We should probably go now," she said, desperately hoping that Mary didn't push the subject any further. Mary didn't answer, she merely nodded.

But one thing she couldn't seem to brush off was the fact that her head was spinning. Just a few short hours ago, she had been in the kitchen with James, convincing him not to spike the hot chocolate with Firewhisky. Now she was openly considering the idea of running away. It was madness. Bonkers. But she knew Mary was right; if she stuck around 'till summer, Regulus would definitely find out about it and try to stop it, and would probably succeed, with the help of torture. And then what would become of her future? If she married Regulus, wouldn't... wouldn't she have to...

Then it all dawned on her. She _had_ to run away. If not, she _would_ marry Regulus and she _would_ have to switch sides in the war, whether she liked it or not. And the thought of fighting against her closest friends, attacking them, capturing them, even possibly .killing. them made her stomach do somersaults and tears fill her eyes. She .had. to run away. It was her only hope for a happy life, and this was her only chance to do it.

Marlene sprung into action. The all-consuming silence had given her time to think, and she was now initiating conversation, rather than waiting on Mary to do it for her. She _was_ risking a lot by agreeing to run away with her. Marlene felt that she at least owed it to her to co-operate. "How are we going to leave?"

James led Remus from the Common Room and began running through the corridors, peeping into the passing rooms without uttering a word, despite Remus' constant flow of questions such as: "Did you even hear them, James?! They're planning on RUNNING AWAY! Do they realize what this means?! Why are they even doing this?! Surely we can help?! How do they plan on escaping, anyway?!" James kept running and peering into classrooms before he finally found an empty trophy room, pulling Remus inside and shutting the door firmly behind them.

"We have to stop them." said James, fully aware of the fact that he was stating the obvious. "But how?" queried Remus. "They don't seem to be changing their minds anytime soon."

James thought in silence as Remus began to pace the length of the freshly dusted trophy room, muttering things for his ears only. There had to be some way of keeping them from running away, even if it was just for a night or two. Then they would at least have a chance of talking them out of it, rather than just letting them go without a fight. What did they mean by Marlene having to marry someone she didn't love? James took at least twenty minutes on formulating a suitable idea . It wan't the best of plans, but they were already emotional as it was so it was worth a shot.

"Moony, I have a plan," he said, almost automatically getting Remus' attention. "We go out to the dark forest and follow them, that's probably where they're going." began James, the cogs in his brain turning. "They were feeling really sad about leaving, right? So all we have to do is follow them out there and provoke the emotion. Maybe scare them back to the castle if all else fails."

Remus considered for a moment. "I don't really want to scare them, I just want them to stay. But I suppose we don't really have a choice, now do we? Maybe we can get a headstart on making them emotional," he said, knitting his brows together slightly before saying, "Come on, we don't have much time."

And after a nod of agreement from James, the pair of them began to run back to the Common Room.

Marlene stood alone in the dimly lit Common Room, keeping watch for prefects while Mary kept packing. She was taking a lot longer than necessary to pack, for some reason.

Before Marlene had left the girls dormitories to go stand watch, (as it was now past the time where everyone should be well asleep) Mary had been packing quite slowly. Marlene didn't know why, but she had a sneaking suspicion that Mary was having second thoughts. This wasn't good. She didn't really want to run away at all, let alone all by herself. She had only found her full motivation to run away a few minutes ago, and if Mary approached Marlene about her doubts, who was she to make her go too? After all, running away wasn't giving any benefit to Mary, so she didn't exactly have many good points to argue if it came to that.

Before she had too much time to formulate any however, the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open from outside. _Shit!_ Without thinking, she dove headlong behind the couch and landed, rather uncomfortably, on the floor. The old carpet scratched her face as footsteps came closer, making her slowly move further away from where they were coming from all while trying not to make noise. Needless to say, it was hard to do without being extremely uncomfortable. Marlene twisted herself so she could see their feet through the small space underneath the couch she had dove behind. She strained to listen as they stopped walking, turning this way and that as if in search of something.

"Where are they?! They can't already be gone-"

"They're packing, Remus. Calm down!"

Marlene visibly sagged with relief. She heaved herself up from the floor, grunting with the extra weight of the bag on her back that contained most of her belongings. When she did eventually manage to get back to her normal height, she was met by incredulous looks their faces.

"What on earth were you doing down there?" asked James, his tone matching the newly accquired look on his and Remus' faces.

Marlene rolled her eyes. "I was just inspecting the beautiful carpet down here, it smells heavenly." she said in a sarcastic tone.

And that's as far as I got with this one. Sorry guys, but it's me from the future showing you a glimpse from the past, one I definitely will not be adding to anytime soon. Since this (my first actual fanfiction by the way), I've proven on other sites as well that full length stories, requiring dedication *cough* and talent *cough* are not my forté. And I know this is potentially the most agonising powermove of the 21st century, but this is not ever making a return. I'm too busy to even plan it, to keep it in mind, to actually continue the lame ass plot I had for it anyway. My ships have changed, my writing has advanced, my focus has shifted, none of it fits this mess anymore. Not that I'm now a supreme writer, but this is just embarassing to tie myself to at this point. I'll keep it up for you, rare reader, who has it still in their following list, but otherwise, time to say goodbye. Thanks for reading :)


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